30th December 2019Comments Off on Fox Networks Could Soon Go Dark for Millions Still Stuck With Cable

As we prepare to embark on a new decade, any fans of Fox programming still holding onto their cable subscription could soon be SOL. Hundreds of mid-range and local cable providers with millions of customers between them are locked in 2020 contract negotiations with Fox, and the broadcasting company’s allegedly holding their feet to the fire with price hikes in the double digits and consumer-targeted propaganda campaigns. That so many…

The launch of Disney+ thus far has been something of a mixed bag. On one hand, Disney was able to get 10 million users to sign up for its fledgling service, an impressive figure no matter how you look at it. On the other hand, the service’s debut was not without its share of frustrations as users experienced a range of technical difficulties when it came to actually accessing Disney’s…

19th November 2019Comments Off on TikTok’s owner may launch a cheaper rival to Spotify and Apple Music next month

The way Alex Zhu — who today heads up the video app TikTok that’s taken the teen and 20-something demographics by storm — tells the service’s origin story, it involves a train ride and a eureka moment. Back in 2014, Alex had co-founded Musical.ly, which trod similar ground as TikTok does today with the short-burst videos that users create in which they do everything from lip-syncing songs to dancing, showing…

Battery power is one of those things that’s always at a premium, especially when you’re traveling and need to use one of the precious few power outlets at the airport to keep your device charged. This week, the LA County District Attorney’s office put out a warning to remind everyone of one way you shouldn’t keep that device charged: a public USB port. We warned people about using public USB…

18th November 2019Comments Off on Amazon is opening its own grocery store. Here’s the biggest problem with it

It’s official. Amazon is opening its own grocery store, separate from the Whole Foods banner it acquired two years ago. The tech giant will open a supermarket in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles next year. The announcement was made after Amazon posted job openings on its website. The news was first reported by CNET. The store will allow Amazon to carry products such as Coca-Cola that are banned…

For years, the traditional 401(k) plan has been the most popular workplace retirement account. However, there’s a new alternative that’s been growing steadily in the past decade: the Roth 401(k). According to data from global advisory, broking, and solutions company Willis Towers Watson, 70% of employers who have a 401(k) plan offered a Roth version in 2018, up from just 46% in 2012. If your employer is one of them,…

Netflix has a treasure trove of terrific movies that you can stream right now, but if you’re looking for more than just a two-hour commitment, it’s also got a boatload of great TV shows you can delve into to keep yourself occupied for days — or even weeks — on end. If you just finished a good series and need a new one to fill the void, Netflix is the…

15th November 2019Comments Off on Health websites are sharing sensitive medical data with Google, Facebook, and Amazon

The news: Popular health websites are sharing private, personal medical data with big tech companies, according to an investigation by the Financial Times. The data, including medical diagnoses, symptoms, prescriptions, and menstrual and fertility information, are being sold to companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Oracle and smaller data brokers and advertising technology firms, like Scorecard and OpenX. The investigation: The FT analyzed 100 health websites, including WebMD, Healthline, health…

15th November 2019Comments Off on Apple just released an app that tracks your heart, hearing, and menstrual cycles

Apple’s new standalone app, called Research, is an effort to collect information on three common aspects of people’s health. We’re gonna science this: As the name suggests, the app is meant to collect user data and send it to research partnerships that Apple has set up—three of them, each of which will focus on a separate issue. The first, on women’s health, links the company with Harvard’s public health school…

14th November 2019Comments Off on By 2022, Only These 12 States Will Tax Social Security Benefits

Americans rely on their Social Security benefits to cover a big portion of their expenses in retirement. Yet even though people have payroll taxes withheld from their paychecks throughout their careers to pay for Social Security, some retirees then have to turn around and pay federal income taxes on their benefits. Adding insult to injury, a handful of state government tack on their own state income taxes on Social Security….

Military recruiters are always looking to tap into new fads to recruit younger people into the military service and in our advanced technology age that includes social media and gaming. On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a bad idea they are tapping into everything that teenagers like and enjoy, and it’s a great opportunity to reach them one on one but what happens when some of the apps that…

13th November 2019Comments Off on World’s largest Starbucks opens Friday in Chicago. What to know about the Reserve Roastery

CHICAGO – The largest Starbucks in the world opens Friday in the Windy City. The location will open Nov. 15 on Magnificent Mile as the company’s sixth and final Reserve Roastery, an immersive, theatrical experience dedicated to roasting and brewing small-batch coffee from around the world. Somewhere between a shrine to beans and a Willy Wonka’s of coffee, the Roastery features three coffee bars, a cocktail bar and a selection…